


The Golden Conch

by morebeesthanyoucouldimagine



Series: Ereri Week 2015 [5]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Day 5, Depression, Ereri Week, I mean "Mercenary Thug", M/M, Mermaids, Merman!Eren, Mythology - Freeform, Pirate!Levi, Soulmates, ahem, trigger warning: attempted suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-03 01:47:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4081849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine/pseuds/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This couldn’t be real. Merpeople couldn’t talk, they just attacked and devoured humans that trespassed on their territory.</p>
<p>“I want to help you.” They repeated.</p>
<p>“With what, slitting Erwin’s throat and hanging him off of the bowsprit?” Levi questioned, walking towards the mysterious merperson. </p>
<p>“Yes.” </p>
<p>“Shouldn’t I at least know your name?” If he was seriously going to consider this, he wanted more information about them.</p>
<p>“I am a merman that goes by Eren, and you are the pirate that goes by Levi. You are someone who has hunted my tainted kin. They are an enemy to us just as much as they are an enemy to you.” Normally Levi would have been disturbed that someone knew so much about him without formally knowing him, but in this scenario nothing could seem truly bizarre.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Golden Conch

It was nearly midnight when Levi walked out on to the deck of the Rogue Titan. The large ship was sailing steadily through the Marian Ocean on its mission to destroy the merpeople who threatened humanity. Its crew was known as the Survey Corps. They were more of “mercenary thugs” than anything else.

“God, he’s such an ass.” The man grumbled. He was complaining about his Captain, Erwin Smith. “Does anybody actually have the name Smith, or is it thrust upon them?” Levi chuckled under his breath. It was probably a pseudonym, similar to John Smith, but more unique. Like, he didn’t want to be identified, but he wanted to stand out.

“I just want to- want to kill him.” Levi admitted, thinking he was alone.

“I could help you with that.” A voice called out from behind him. Whipping around, he saw a creature resting their elbows on the rail of the ship. The merperson’s eyes were like emeralds, glowing in the moonlight, they were boring into Levi’s silver ones.

“Are you just hanging off the side of the boat?” He questioned, the deck of the vessel was pretty high above the ocean’s surface. The creature, blinked a few times in silence.

“Yes.”

This couldn’t be real. Merpeople couldn’t talk, they just attacked and devoured humans that trespassed on their territory.

“I want to help you.” They repeated.

“With what, slitting Erwin’s throat and hanging him off of the bowsprit?” Levi questioned, walking towards the mysterious merperson. 

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t I at least know your name?” If he was seriously going to consider this, he wanted more information about them.

“I am a merman that goes by Eren, and you are the pirate that goes by Levi. You are someone who has hunted my tainted kin. They are an enemy to us just as much as they are an enemy to you.” Normally Levi would have been disturbed that someone knew so much about him without formally knowing him, but in this scenario nothing could seem truly bizarre.

“So, then what was your plan?” The mercenary cautiously asked.

“You will alert your Captain of my presence. He will then order you and your crew to chase after me. I will lead your “Rogue Titan” through the straits between Scylla and Charybdis.” A disturbing grin danced upon the gorgeous merman’s face. His sharp, dangerous teeth shone in moonlight. “Whether the crew is devoured by Scylla or drowned by Charybdis, it does not matter to me.” Reaching out to caress the human’s face, he promised that he would rescue Levi before anything happened to him.

“Yeah, where not going to do that.” Levi said as he leaned away from the creature’s webbed and clawed hand.

“Well, you have no plan.” Eren pointed out.

“Yeah, but let’s make a new plan that kills only Erwin.” The mercenary persisted.

“Why would you care about the others?” The merman questioned. From what he knew about humans, they destroyed, the fought, they argued, the waged war, and so on. Humans were savages. They enjoyed destroying each other. The fact that they could work together in a crew like this, was surprising. The only beneficial part of them was that they killed the “tainted merpeople”.

“I don’t like unnecessary deaths.” The thug answered, looking out over the open ocean. A somber look resided in his eyes.

“Well, when you come up with a better idea, use this to contact me.” The merman held out an object about the size of his fist. It looked like an ordinary conch shell, but it was shimmering and sparkling. Levi hesitantly took the shell, nearly dropping it. It was heavier than he expected. Upon further inspection, he found out why. It was made of gold, solid gold.

A Golden Conch.

* * *

  
Levi spoke with Eren every night for the next month. While some nights they talked about their plan, most of the time they did not. They talked about almost everything together. From how their day went, to how their two cultures differed. Eren was the one who instigated most of the conversations. At first, Levi was afraid that he would be caught with the enemy, but he quickly remembered that almost everyone on in the crew actually slept normally. Unlike Levi, who had a terrible case of insomnia.

After a particularly rough day serving at Erwin’s side, Levi was fuming.

“I hate being his first mate!” He exclaimed as he sat down in front of the merman who was comfortably gripping the rail of the ship.

“Wait, you’re his mate?” Eren nearly fell off the side of the boat. How could someone hate their mate that they willingly took? Or was Levi unwilling? “Did he force you into it? Is that why you hate him?”

“Yeah, he forced a lot of us into this.” Levi spat. God, how he hated that bastard.

“So, he has more than one mate?” The beautiful boy’s eyes widened in confusion.

“Yeah.” Levi said, confused as to what Eren meant. It your typical crew set up, you had a Captain and beneath him was his first mate. The first mate was the second in command and would take the role of Captain if need be. A second mate would be beneath the first, and so on. The number of mates depended on the crew, like in this crew there were three.

“That monster!” He knew humans were barbarians, but forcing one person into a mating bond was too much, let alone multiple people. “I swear to you that I will exterminate that rapist.” His green eyes, began to burn gold. Anger coursed through his veins. No wonder the human desired his blood to be spilled.

“Oh shit, you mean mate as in the way animals do it?” Levi asked, realizing the communication error.

“What do you mean by that?” Eren answered his question with a question. Not to spite him, but he was simply confused by what the human meant. “Merpeople have only one mate. They are the one we are destined to be with. Most of the time a merperson’s mate is another merperson, but there have been cases of a merperson’s mate being a human. We know who are mate is a soon as we see their eyes. The bond is born at birth, and only dies once one of the Merpeople dies. It’s a very special bond. Not only does it affect the merperson mentally, but also physically. For instance, if your mate hurts you enough to draw blood, it will leave a scar that will never heal.”

“Yeah, we don’t have that. We fuck who we want, and in most cases it fucks us over.” Levi said, looking at Eren’s hair. It looked soft, he almost wanted to stroke it to see if it was.

“I’m sure a handsome human like you must ‘fuck’ a lot.” Eren muttered, he almost sounded disappointed. It was honestly a common misconception. For some reason, many people thought Levi was a total “ladies man”. Which was far from the truth.

“Nope.” He corrected. “I don’t want to do it unless I actually care about them. I’ve never really felt that way for anyone.”

“I completely understand.” The merman grinned.

* * *

  
As Levi made his way to the top deck, he felt like something was off. Instead of strolling out into the night, Levi followed his instincts and snuck out through the shadows. When he saw what was out there, he was glad he chose the stealth route. It was Oluo, standing over something caught in a net.

“You wretched creature, I’m glad I caught you.” Oluo looked very proud of himself. As Levi creeped closer, still hiding in the darkness, he saw what was tangled in the rope.

It was Eren.

He had never seen Eren’s tale, before but he was stunned by its beauty. It was as if someone had taken only the finest emeralds and weaved it into the most valuable silk. His fin was forked, and his bones were visible through the translucent flesh that covered it. His face was contorted in pain.

Yet, Oluo did not care as he continued praising himself. “Petra will be so proud of me when he sees that I caught a mermaid that was trying to kill us all as we slept. Oh, Petra will see such a brave man I am.” He sighed wistfully. He had been pursuing Petra for as long as his small mind could remember. But unfortunately she fancied Levi, and Levi fancied dick.

“I have to thank you really, but I’ll thank you after I sleep.” Oluo strolled towards the door that lead to the lower portions of the ship. He sent Eren one last smirk as he shut the door behind himself.

Well, that was convenient. Levi waited a few moments before dashing over to where Eren was being held captive.

“You betrayed me.” The merman growled. Levi chose to ignore him in favor of untying the net. This only infuriated Eren and confirmed his false beliefs. “HOW DARE YOU!” Eren screeched he was absolutely enraged. His eyes were a burning gold. The tears that poured from him actually added to the fear factor. His brows were furrowed in intense anger. His sharp, dagger-like teeth were bared.

For the first time ever, Levi was afraid. He had seen angry Merpeople before, but this was different. He had never felt so paralyzed. The pirate could only watch as Eren’s raging talon lunged at his face. Thankfully, despite the fact that his mind wasn’t working, his reflexes were. His eyelids closed as the claw made contact just above his eyebrow. It barely grazed his eyelid, but it slashed open his cheek. Blood poured from the wound in a large stream, as if it was the ocean itself.

With the sudden pain throwing him out of trance, Levi’s eyes snapped open, but Eren wasn’t there. When he rushed to the side of the boat, he nearly threw himself over the bow trying to see Eren. But he saw nothing.

It was only an open ocean.

* * *

  
The Rogue Titan docked at a nearby wharf so that its crewmembers could have a quick rest, go to a pub, and maybe try to get laid. Levi, however just went to the nearest inn and got a room. He just wanted to be alone.

After Eren had disappeared, Levi couldn’t keep it together. That damned ocean demon plagued his dreams. He promised Levi’s happiness and an end to all of his suffering. His beautiful, jewel-like eyes comforted and soothed the pirate. Eren’s loving touch was all that Levi wanted. But when he woke from the paradise, he was back in his own dark room. After seeing such a heavenly place and realizing that it will never come to be, he felt like he was in his own personal hell. Without Eren, he felt so empty.

What was he doing with his life? He didn’t enjoy being a “mercenary thug”, he couldn’t spend the rest of his life doing that. It felt like nothing meant anything anymore. He didn’t feel like anything was important. What had he been doing with his life before Eren came into it?

When he rolled over to try to get comfortable, something gold caught his eye. Peeking out from a messy pile of his clothes was the conch shell that Eren had given him. He had been tempted to throw it off the boat, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

He slowly got off the uncomfortable bed and walked over to the dirty laundry. Normally he would have kept his room ridiculously clean, but right now it was a pigsty. He couldn’t bring himself to care. He carefully lifted the golden conch, his hands were trembling. He became overwhelmed with sadness.

“I loved you.” He whimpered into the precious shell. He prayed to whatever cruel deity that existed that Eren had heard him.

What’s the point of hoping and wanting? It’s not like Eren was going to come back, he hated Levi now.

He couldn’t live with himself.

* * *

 

The full moon shone serenely over the open ocean. Levi sat on the edge of the pier gazing into the waters. His reflection was a mess. His usually clean, neat and tidy hair was looking more like a bird’s nest than anything else. Tufts of hair were sticking out at strange angles, clumps of it were tangled and matted. And not to mention, it was terribly greasy. The bags under his eyes had gotten much worse. They honestly made it look like he was punched in the face. Even though it had been about two weeks since Eren had left, the scar on his cheek was still there. It refused to heal for some reason.

He couldn’t do this anymore.

A few moments prior, he had taken some nearby fishing weights and had tied them around his ankles. Normally, fishing weights didn’t weigh much, but these were designed for large fish that lived in the deep depths of the ocean. They should have no problem weighing him down.

The man took one look back up at the moon. It could be most accurately described as mystical. It was almost as if it had an aura. Levi felt like it was reaching out to him. He looked back down at what would soon be his watery grave.

He couldn’t do this anymore.

He pushed himself off of the wooden dock. For a brief moment, he felt as if he was flying, suspended in the air. This ended quickly, and he was swallowed by the salty water. The weights dragged him farther into the depths below. His eyes slipped shut, there was no reason to keep them open. His lungs felt as if they had caught fire. He wanted to keep his mouth shut, but his instincts wrenched it open. His mind was adamant in his decision, but his body tried in vain to bring oxygen into his lungs.

As his consciousness faded, he heard a voice in his ear.

“I love you, too.”

* * *

 

A beautiful melody weaved through his ears as Levi regained his senses. The tune sounded somber but laced with joy. As if the singer had lost something dear to them, and had found it again. His eyes fluttered open to see a pair of emeralds in front of him. But once his vision focused, he realized they were in fact someone’s eyes.

“Eren.”

Damn it, he was dreaming again. It frustrated him to no end. Nonetheless, Levi wanted to enjoy this momentary paradise.

“Eren.” He repeated again, a small smile spreading across his lips.

The merman gasped at the normally stoic man, before returning a smile of his own. The intimidating factor of his sharp teeth was all but erased by the pure love and joy radiating from the grin. No imagination could conjure a smile that bright.

It was Eren. The real Eren. The actual, one hundred percent truly and honestly Eren. The sudden realization had Levi slightly backing away from Eren. But there was a resistance against his movement. It was almost as if he was moving through water.

As if he was underwater.

Holy shit.

How was Levi breathing? How was he still alive? Panic spread across his face as he started to thrash around he tried to figure out what kind of cruel illusion this was.

Wait! The fishing weights around his ankles, were they still there? Levi snapped his head down to see if they were.

They’re weren’t.

And neither were his legs.

Instead, he saw a long fish-like tail. It was covered in brilliant sapphire scales. His lunate caudal fin was a deep, rich navy blue that faded to black at its tips. As he moved, the light reflecting off of the scales made it shone like precious jewels. He looked at his hands to see if they had also become like a merman’s. Dark blue webbing connected the fingers that tapered off into ebony claws.

He was a merman.

He slowly lifted his gaze to see Eren’s hand stretched out towards him. He slowly and cautiously took the offered hand. The brunette leaned close to him, and placed a gentle and chaste kiss to his lips, before swimming away with him into the depths of the ocean.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to tell this from third person, while using only Levi’s knowledge. Here is some clarity on some of the situations.
> 
> Eren and Levi are soulmates.  
> Eren knew Levi was his mate, but he also knew that Levi didn’t know.  
> That’s why the cut on his cheek left a scar, even though it was small and should have healed easily.  
> The conch was used to not only communicate verbal messages, but emotional ones as well.  
> The sadness that overcame Levi as he picked up the shell was Eren’s sadness.  
> Eren did hear him, and Levi’s emotions showed his lack of will to live. Eren immediately swam out to save him.  
> There is an urban legend saying that if you swim in the ocean during a full moon, you'll turn into a merperson. Or you can believe that Eren magically turned him into one just before he died.  
> The Levi in this fic is based off of the Levi in “A Choice with No Regrets”.  
> In ACWNR Levi resents Erwin and tries to kill him  
> In both of these stories, Isabell and Farlan are dead.  
> The “tainted merpeople” were supposed to represent the titans.  
> Eren’s mother was devoured by a tainted mermaid.  
> Eren hates the tainted merpeople, and respects Levi for killing them.  
> After the end of this story, Eren and Levi lived happily ever after.
> 
> There may be a sequel, but idk.


End file.
